20 men molest minor girl in Guwahati; outrage after video goes viral

There was widespread anger and shock after a video footage of the incident uploaded on YouTube went viral, which forced the government to take action.

A total of four people have been arrested while 12 others involved in the alleged molestation have been identified.

Assam Director General of Police Jayanta Narayan Chowdhury told PTI. "Thanks to the prompt media coverage we have got the video clip of the brawl and have identified 12 of them. We will take strong action against the guilty, the DGP said.

Narrating the sequence of events, Chowdhury said, four girls and two boys, apparently known to each other, entered the bar on Monday night, where they subsequently had a brawl and were forced outside by the establishment's security.

"When the six came out on the streets, local people taking advantage of the situation pushed and pulled one of the girls and attempted to strip and molest her," the DGP said.

"The police were alerted and they reached the scene immediately after the incident and rescued the girl," he said.

Asked about the safety of women in Guwahati, the DGP said, "This incident does not prove that there are predators lurking in the city". "This is just an isolated incident when local people took advantage of the situation and indulged in the crime," the DGP said.

One of those arrested earlier was a contractual employee of the Assam Electronic Development Corporation Ltd Amarjyoti Kalita, who had also acted in an Assamese serial. The other two arrested were Dhanonjoy Basfor and Bulbul Das.

They were charged under Sec 341 (wrongful restraint), Sec 143 (unlawful assembly), Sec 294 (obscene act), Sec 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), Sec 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty) of IPC following a written complaint filed by the girl's mother.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has termed the incident unfortunate and said it should not have been allowed to occur.

He has also directed the district administration and police to monitor all bars, clubs, discos and hotels.